Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Daniel Ellsberg, a true patriot who has gone above and beyond the call of duty, dedicating his life to the service of his country. An expert economist with two years in the Marine Corps and two years at the State Department in Saigon, he is best known for revealing the truth about the Vietnam war through what became known as the Pentagon Papers. After his many years of dedicated service, he recently received the Rollo May Award, given to an individual whose life's work demonstrates his faith in human possibility.

Daniel is a man who has had the courage to stand up for his beliefs and speak the truth even in the face of great adversity. In bringing the Pentagon Papers to the public's attention, he took a risk that no member of Congress was willing to take, despite their immunity. Daniel leaked the information to the press in a desperate attempt to get out the truth, knowing that he would likely spend the rest of his life incarcerated. But for Daniel the loss of American lives was too great a sacrifice to be allowed to continue needlessly.

A man always looking out for the injustices of the world, Daniel has become a lecturer, writer and activist on the dangers of unlawful interventions and the nuclear era. He is there to remind us of our greater responsibilities to mankind, and I applaud his heroism and fortitude.

Mr. Speaker and Colleagues, please join me in honor and recognition of Daniel Ellsberg for his years of outstanding service to his country. His strength and dedication to the ideals of this country are to be commended and admired.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to submit the following speech for the Record:

I wish to welcome musicians Ani DiFranco and the Indigo

Girls (Amy Ray and Emily Saliers), actor James Cromwell,

actress Joan McIntosh, leading opponents to PFS from the

Skull Valley Goshute Tribe--Margene Bullcreek and Lena

Knight, and Winona LaDuke, program director at Honor the

Earth.

Thank you everyone for being here today. Your presence

means much to us. Perspectives from those not inside the

beltway are essential if we are to make the best public

policy choices.

Today we will hear from the Native Americans who will be

living next to a radioactive waste dump if the powers that be

have their way. Private Fuel Storage (PFS) is a consortium of

nuclear utilities that desire to dump nuclear waste on sacred

Native American grounds in Utah.

The proposal put forth by PFS would house 44,000 tons of

high-level radioactive waste and is unjust, extremely

dangerous, and unnecessary. Placing a giant nuclear waste

dump on Native American land, against the consent of the

tribe, violates Native American rights and raises

environmental justice issues.

The PFS proposal puts the safety of the American people at

risk. High-level irradiated waste would need to be

transferred thousands of miles across the country in order to

get to the facility. This creates the possibility of a

potentially catastrophic radioactivity release during

transportation due to an accident or terrorist attack. I

represent Cleveland and my constituents are not happy about

living on a transportation route.

This facility is not necessary because it does not reduce

the risks posed by high-level radioactive waste, and would

only exacerbate the problems currently facing nuclear power

in the United States.

In response, 61 Members of Congress signed a letter that

urged the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to deny the license

for PFS. We are awaiting the NRC's response.

I urge all of you here today to demand accountability,

responsibility, justice, and fairness. We cannot allow this

trampling of Native American rights.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor and recognition of James Flannery, a statesman dedicated to his family, his church, his community and his country. Named Cleveland's ``Man of the Year'' in 1981, his life of service continued for more than two decades and will be carried on by the friends and family whose lives he touched through his generosity and enthusiasm.

While he was always ready for a game of basketball or football, Jim was more of a math wiz than an athlete. He earned his degree in accounting at the University of Notre Dame before turning to politics and serving Ohio's 48th district as a State Representative from 1967 to 1972. But his service did not end there. He served on the Ohio Board of Regents and the Ohio Accountancy Board before becoming the Chairman of the City of Lakewood Financial Review Commission and the Charter Review Commission. Jim also served as a member of the Board of Revision for the Cuyahoga County Treasurer's Office and was the founding president of both the University of Notre Dame National Alumni Board and the St. James Parent Teacher Union.

As those closest to him know, even with his extensive community involvement, Jim's family was his true calling and passion, and was always a huge source of pride--and with good reason. His extensive family (33 grandchildren) known by many as ``The Flan Clan,'' has had quite an effect on their community. Almost a dozen of his family members have followed his footsteps at St. Edward's High School to receive a Holy Cross education, and the family's local political involvement goes back three generations.

Mr. Speaker and Colleagues, please join me in honor and recognition of James Flannery and the family he leaves behind, for their outstanding service to their community. Jim's life of service will be remembered and he will be greatly missed by the many people whose lives were blessed by his presence.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of the Reverend Vasilije Budimir Sokolovic, pastor of St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Cathedral in Parma, Ohio, for his thirty-five year ministry with the church. I also rise today to honor the life and spiritual legacy of his father, Priest martyr Saint Budimir Sokolovic of Dobrun, recently canonized by the Serbian Orthodox Church, who was executed by communist oppressors for his religious beliefs.

Tyranny and violence took the life of Saint Budimir Sokolovic, yet his legacy of strength, spirit, faith and ministry to others continues to live on in the life and works of his son, Reverend Vasilije Sokolovic. Reverend Sokolovic was just a young boy when his father was jailed and executed, shortly after the end of WWII. Saint Sokolovic's vocation directed him to the battlegrounds in Yugoslavia, where he provided spiritual guidance to Serbian freedom fighters battling the German occupation. He lived to see the Nazis expelled from his homeland, only to be felled under the violence of the ensuing communist regime.

Oppression and poverty dominated Eastern Europe after the war, magnifying the fear and loss for Saint Budimir Sokolovic's wife and two young boys. Rather than shrinking from his father's great legacy, young Vasilije carried his father's life and memory within his heart, following the path of ministry and service cultivated by Saint Budimir Sokolovic. Equipped with the spiritual guidance of his father and his own unwavering faith, Reverend Sokolovic entered the seminary, becoming the 42nd generation of Sokolovics to dedicate their lives to the priesthood.

Mr. Speaker and Colleagues, please join me in honor and tribute of Reverend Vasilije Budimir Sokolovic, whose ministry and leadership continues to provide faith and support to countless individuals and families of the St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church, and serves as an instrument of spiritual connection to the life and works of his father, Priest martyr Saint Budimir Sokolovic of Dobrun. With courage and steadfast conviction in his faith, Saint Budimir Sokolovic paid the ultimate sacrifice in his quest for religious freedom.

Reverend Vasilije Sokolovic continues to carry the faithful torch of his father--a blazing legacy of freedom from tyranny, a burning reminder of the fragility of democracy, and a light of hope and inspiration for people around the world searching for the light of liberty.

Mr. Speaker. I rise today in honor and recognition of Robert Hawk--Vietnam War Veteran, public servant and protector of the citizens of Cleveland and beyond. Mr. Hawk's dedication and integrity throughout his career as a Special Agent with the Federal Government reflects a continuum of law enforcement excellence.

Mr. Hawk grew up in Western Pennsylvania and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Geneva College in Beaver Falls, PA. After graduation, Mr. Hawk served in the infantry with the U.S. Army's Cavalry Division in the capacity of Team Leader in charge of a Reconnaissance Team.

In 1978, following his exemplary service to our country, Mr. Hawk began his service with the FBI as a Special Agent. His assignments included working out of the FBI's Cleveland and Detroit offices. For the next decade, Mr. Hawk garnered extensive experience on high-level assignments, including working in undercover capacities on narcotics and white-collar crime cases. Since 1989, Mr. Hawk has continued to serve with diligence and integrity as the Media Coordinator in the Cleveland FBI Office. Aside from media-related duties, Mr. Hawk is a Firearms Instructor, Defensive Tactics Instructor, and assists the Cleveland Organized Crime Squad on numerous cases.

Mr. Speaker and Colleagues, please join me in honor, gratitude and recognition of Mr. Robert Hawk, friend, mentor and leader within the FBI organization. His significant work continues to strengthen the vital bonds between law enforcement and the greater community, and also serves to strengthen the fabric of safety for every citizen of Cleveland and well beyond.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Miller for his leadership on this bill. Mr. Speaker I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 525. Association Health Plans cherry-pick. They lower standards of care. They fail to reduce the growing ranks of the uninsured. But I would like to focus on a critical shortfall we don't often hear much about: Efficiency.

AHPs fail to address the white elephant in the living room. One of the biggest reasons that America's health care costs are so high is that we pay far more for administrative costs in privately administered health plans than other industrialized nations. The average private health plan puts 12-15 percent--sometimes as high as 30 percent--of your health care dollar to administrative costs. AHPs would not only fail to address this problem, but could make it worse.

In fact, a study by human resources consultants, William Mercer, Inc. found that ``... the potential administrative cost increases typically would exceed the potential administrative cost savings. We estimate that the additional costs for small firms who buy AHP coverage typically would range from 1.5 percent to 5 percent of premiums.'' That is above and beyond the average administrative costs of 12-15 percent.

Now contrast that with the overhead costs of Medicare, whose 40th birthday we celebrate this week. On average, Medicare's administrative costs are 2-3 percent. That means that Medicare is about 5 times more efficient than private health plans and could be 7 to 10 times more efficient than AHPs.

Health care costs are dragging small businesses down in their efforts to compete with their counterparts in other nations where health care is universal. It is time to stop dancing around the margins of reform by proposing more of the same inefficiencies. We already know what works. Lets expand Medicare to all.

Mr. Speaker, the following is an abridged transcript of a film entitled ``We Become Silent,'' written and produced by Cleveland resident, Kevin Miller. The topic is the potential effects of the Codex Alimentarius Commission's guidelines on vitamin and mineral supplement safety.

Narrator: FEAR.

Its' darkness causes humanity to make awful choices. With

dreadful power, fear can rule our lives--and paralyze lofty

hopes and dreams . . . in an instant.

It is the antithesis of god, fear is--a destructive dark

side--the ghost that haunts the brain. It is a universal

trait--a global affliction--and a tool deployed all-too-often

by those intent on inflicting control over the masses.

Robert Verkerk, Ph.D.--Fear preys on the most vulnerable

among us. Fear sells. And Nowhere is fear peddled more

shamelessly than in the fields of medicine and human

nutrition.

Narrator: Fear anesthetizes us . . . it coerces us . . .

making us believe that we can do little on our own to prevent

or treat disease . . . and forces entire NATIONS to kneel at

the altars of orthodox medicine.

Robert Verkerk, Ph.D.--And of course, the fear-mongers are

also preying on the fear of disease. And the solution the

fear-mongers give us are drugs, yet drugs are the single most

dangerous thing we can put in our mouths.

Narrator: It's a sad fact that Pharmaceuticals have become

the dope of modern man--and make no mistake, we are addicted.

Last year, between 3-5 billion prescriptions were written in

the U.S. alone. And for all of its' miracles and heroism,

western medicine has also left disaster in its' wake. The

burdens of drug side effects are being exposed daily: Prozac,

Vioxx, Celebrex, Baycol, Lariam, and Zoloft--just to name a

few--are deeply uncomfortable reminders that secrecy and

sales have often circumvented safety.

There's also the crippling burden of health insurance, and

the MILLIONS who are debilitated by a wave of red ink,

bankrupted as a result of an unexpected illness that they

could not afford. As if by design, health choices are

limited, information is frightfully scarce, lives are ruined

. . . and the truth be damned.

Scott Bukow: Business is business, and people don't like

competition. Smart business people may not always do

something that's best for the people or for someone's health.

Narrator: In addition to these painful realities of life,

however, an abundance of evidence now suggests . . . that

this holy reverence towards modem medicine--may be killing

us.

Carolyn Dean, MD--I wrote Death by Modern Medicine,

inspired actually after writing a paper called Death by

Medicine . . . And what I found after analyzing government

databases and peer-reviewed journal articles . . . I found

that 784,000 people are dying annually, prematurely, due to

modem medicine intervention. When I added up the figures I

could get my hands on, I came up with that astounding number,

and also found studies that said we're only capturing 5-20

percent of the actual deaths . . .

Simmon Wilcox, MD--We're clear that the status quo is equal

to a premature death in

this country . . . Someone needs to stand up and scream

``FOUL, SOMETHING'S GONE AWRY.'' Somebody needs to stop this

madness, and say to the public, ``There's a better option . .

. We will no longer accept the status quo.''

Narrator: But the fear machine is well oiled by

petrochemical dollars and a near worldwide monopoly in

medicine. It works overtime to prevent the truth about

dietary supplements from getting out to the public.

Governments, particularly in Europe and the United States,

seem all-too-eager to comply with the robber barons of

healthcare. It has always been so . . . as evidenced by this

forty-year-old government film . . . which is but one of many

in their arsenals.

FDA Film: 1966: But it's still the same old snake oil . . .

Title appears: ``Health Fraud Racket--Presented by FDA''

Narrator: During the 1990s, however--despite generations of

institutional bias--American consumers won critical battles

against the FDA and the medical/pharmaceutical establishment.

Joseph BASSETT: In the mid-90s, there were movements to put

all supplements on prescription basis and in all of the

countries where they've done that it more than doubled the

cost and made them not available and it's really a freedom of

choice issue . . . it's a consumers issue . . . (1:30) so we

were fighting for the right to access for our own use, our

family's use, and for our businesses. And fortunately, the

health consumer agreed. (1:40) . . . we were actually able to

marshal, one day in a period of hours, one million phone

calls to their government . . . (5:08) It was really a

citizens' uprising.

Narrator: This massive consumer movement for medical

freedom was invigorated when the FDA became enveloped in

controversy of its' own making. The agency approved a guns

drawn raid at the clinic of Dr. Jonathan Wright, and also

raided dozens of health food stores in a pre-meditated power-

grab. Consumer outrage fueled Hollywood to become immersed in

the debate, and actors like James Earl Jones and Sharon

Stone became part of a national campaign for medical

freedom of choice. When Mel Gibson came aboard, he

documented his views in memorable fashion:

Police: ``Freeze''

Mel Gibson: Hey guys . . . guys . . . it's only vitamin C!

You know, vitamin C, like in oranges?''

Narrator: The result of the consumer outcry was that

DSHEA--the dietary supplement health education act--passed

overwhelmingly in 1994. This became the only national law

that linked the use of nutrients in dietary supplements to

reduced risk of disease. And since DSHEA helped ensure

relatively free access to a wide range of dietary supplements

for consumers, activists pulled back from the front lines,

thinking that their struggles were over. Others like Joe

Bassett knew better . . .

Joseph Bassett: We're in a particular industry . . . the

health food industry, that's always been under attack. It's

never stopped, it still isn't stopping because you have

vested interests. In our country you have everybody using

vested interests and the one's who are really entrenched use

the government.

Gerald Kessler: I believe that DSHEA has always been under

attack except for the first few years after DSHEA was passed.

And the present attacks are very broad . . . which means

worldwide, and some of the attacks are just specific to the

Unites States.

Narrator: Now, a bureaucratic shadow called Codex

Alimentarius threatens to silence the medical opposition

forever, both here and abroad. But Codex began innocuously

enough in 1963, as a creation of two arteries of the United

Nations: The Food and Agricultural Organization and the World

Health Organization. Back then, nearly everyone endorsed

their two major goals: to provide nutritious foods for

developing nations--and to shape guidelines for dangerous

industrial chemicals in the food supply.

Within the past decade, however, Codex Alimentarius has

altered its' mission dramatically--many say negatively so--to

include a wide swath of products including dietary

supplements and genetically modified organisms.

Mr. Scott Tips began serving as a U.S. delegate to Codex in

June of 2000. During the first meetings, he did everything he

could to communicate with the head of the US Delegation.

Scott Tips, National Health Federation: I, in a flurry of

notes, passed comments and suggestions (and the like) to

Elizabeth Yetley, who was the American delegate there--it

made no impact. In fact, the only impact I had was collar her

during a break and basically be very tough with her about a

particular clause that she was trying to remove from the

final report, that particular sentence or clause basically

said that the United States supports the right of consumers

to have free access to vitamins and minerals, and she

unilaterally yanked that from the final report.

Narrator: This attitude by Ms. Yetley, who is an employee

of the U.S. Food and Drug administration, is reflective of

codex meetings in general. In an attempt to shine light on

those who are unilaterally making public policy private,

health freedom advocate John Hammell took a small video

camera into two Codex meetings in 1998. These grainy videos

are all that remain of the tapes, which mysteriously

disappeared.

Yetley: moving right along, agenda No. 5 on vitamins and

minerals

Hammell: are you going to strike that second paragraph?

Yetley: well this is a draft positions . . . they're only

draft positions. they're not the final version or formal

position.

Hammell: you've seen the letter from Ron Paul, then? This

was signed by Ron Paul, Congressman Stump and Congressman

Cool.

Yetley: we have received alot of mail and we've looked at

all of it.

Hammel: so you acknowledge this is the will of congress and

of the American people correct?

Yetley: there's a wide range of opinions this one . . .''

Narrator: Despite multiple written requests--and the

intervention of a US Congressman--the FDA refused to answer

any questions about Codex, dietary supplements--or even

labeling--for this documentary. But judging from this rare

interview with Michael R. Taylor, then-deputy commissioner

for policy at FDA, it is obvious that the agency is

unaccustomed to honest intellectual inquiry from the media.

Kevin P. Miller: You stated your concern and the FDA

certainly has on L-Tryptophan. What about your concern about

something like Prozac, very well documented, 28,000 adverse

reports, 1600 suicides associated with that drug.

Michael R. Taylor, deputy commissioner for policy, FDA:

Drugs that go thru our very rigorous testing and review

process are very well understood chemicals. And drugs are

recognized to have both risks and benefits, that's why they

go through a rigorous evaluation. And when those products are

put out on the market, we have a good scientific

understanding of the risks and benefits. And that's laid out

in very detailed labeling that physicians then use to decide

whether to prescribe those products for their patients. Side

effects are part of pharmaceuticals, that's recognized, and

that's why we're so careful scientifically. There's just no

comparison between that situation and dietary supplements,

which have not been subjected to that kind of study . . .

have not been evaluated by FDA, and a large part of the

problem with these supplements is that we simply don't

know about their safety, we don't know about their

benefits, yet there being marketed in some cases for

serious disease-related purposes. ``THERE'S A BIG

Mr. Speaker, the average hourly earnings of U.S. manufacturing workers was $16.01 in March of 2004. The average hourly wages for Honduran workers producing goods for the U.S., 90 cents.

CAFTA is about institutionalizing cheap labor. Multinational corporations want trade agreements where they can make a profit by closing factories in the U.S. and moving jobs to places where workers have no rights and work for very low wages. Cheap labor.

Now, I have traveled across America. And I have seen the effects of agreements like NAFTA and CAFTA: padlocked gates of abandoned factories, grass growing in parking lots of places where workers used to make steel, used to make washing machines, used to make textiles, used to make machine parts.

Free trade has meant freedom for the American worker to stand in the unemployment line while their jobs were traded away. So-called free trade has brought broken dreams, broken homes, broken hearts to the American manufacturing worker. Trade without equity is tyranny. Trade without economic justice is theft. Trade without integrity, without workers' rights, without human rights, without environmental principles is not worthy of a free people.

Mr. Speaker, the North American Free Trade Agreement caused 5.6 million well-paying jobs to leave the United States. If they were replaced at all, they were replaced by insecure, low-wage employment paying 77 percent less.

CAFTA, modeled after the North American Free Trade Agreement, will hurt workers in the United States and Central America. Under CAFTA workers are much more likely to lose their jobs than find better ones, especially if they work in U.S. manufacturing or Central American agriculture, small business or government.

U.S. workers will have to compete in a race to the bottom with sweatshop wages and low standards in Central America reinforced by the weak labor provisions in CAFTA. Provisions that will stay in effect are those like those in El Salvador where they fail to provide for reinstatement of workers fired because of antiunion discrimination; as in Guatemala, where the labor code mandates that unions obtain permission from the labor unions to strike; as in Honduras, where the law prohibits the formation of more than one trade union in a single enterprise.

CAFTA will result in lower wages for the people in this country. It will result in the loss of jobs in this country, and it should be defeated.

I thank the gentleman from New York for yielding me this time.

Madam Speaker, we have been here before. Congress has often resorted to bills and memoranda of understanding concerning China. But the U.S. trade deficit with China has continued to increase. So I am not going to stand here and argue process. We can look at the history and the fact of the whole architecture of agreements that we have had with China, memoranda of understanding, concerns that Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle brought to this floor in order to try to manage United States trade with China.

Remember we were told that a memorandum of understanding on prison labor with China would remove their competitive advantage and restore balanced trade. But the U.S. trade deficit with China worsened.

Remember the agreement to reaffirm the 1992 market access memorandum of understanding. We passed that, but the U.S. trade deficit with China grew worse.

Remember China's agreement to lower tariffs on imports. They cut the tariffs from 42 percent to 23 percent, then to 17 percent, then to 12 percent. But the U.S. trade deficit with China got worse.

Remember China stopped arbitrary limits on maintaining agricultural imports. That was supposed to be a boon for the United States. But the U.S. trade deficit with China got worse. That is exactly the story that we see with NAFTA and the WTO and, this week, CAFTA.

Why does the U.S. trade deficit with China keep getting worse no matter what we do? No matter what our best intentions are? The U.S. trade deficit with China keeps getting worse because labor costs in China are so much cheaper.

Hello? Wake up, America. We are giving away our jobs here, and the central issue is the cheap labor in China. You can pass all of these agreements you want. They are not going to amount to a hill of beans, because the fact of the matter is that the U.S. trade deficit in China will continue to grow, it will approach $200 billion, as long as the labor costs are cheaper. That is why we are losing jobs. That is why the trade deficit is growing. That is why we are losing market share. With all due respect to my good friend from Pennsylvania, I do not see this bill amounting to anything. Vote against it.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor and recognition of Marcia Lieberman. A pillar of the community in Stamford, CT, Marcia was best known as Senator Joseph Lieberman's mother. She became an iconic figure in the press while campaigning for her son in 2000 and 2004. A devout Jew, she was extremely active in the Jewish community and spoke fluent Yiddish. She often made care packages for reporters which included lip balm, an apple, bagel chips and postcards to send to their mothers. She was also known for pointing out reporters from her hometown newspaper, The Stamford Advocate, at press conferences.

Marcia married a bakery truck driver named Henry Lieberman in 1940 and the couple opened a small liquor store shortly afterward. During this time they had three children together: Joseph, Rietta and Ellen. She was also active in helping out the Boy Scouts and the Girl Scouts, Riverton Library, Jewish Family Services, and Hadassah.

Marcia touched the lives of everyone she came into contact with. This was most evident at her funeral, which was attended by more than 700 family members and friends. She was remembered most for her kindness, words of wisdom, and her sense of humor. In his eulogy, Senator Lieberman recounted that after her pulse shot to 190, she asked her cardiologist what caused such palpitations. He told her, ``Sometimes it's love,'' and she responded, ``But I just met you.''

Mr. Speaker and colleagues, please join me in honor and recognition of Marcia Lieberman, who came to be known as ``America's Jewish grandmother'' through her charm and wit on the campaign trail and in her everyday life. The infinite measure of her heart, combined with her courage, vision and integrity, defined her life. I extend my deepest condolences to her friends and family members, especially my friend, Senator Joe Lieberman.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of the Julia de Burgos Cultural Arts Center's presentation of the 37th Annual Puerto Rican Parade and Latino Festival, held on July 22, 23 and 24, 2005, in Cleveland, Ohio.

Every year, the leaders of our Puerto Rican community have organized an event that promises to highlight the magnificent history and culture of Puerto Rico. Americans of Puerto Rican heritage are an integral facet of the rich diversity of Cleveland, providing immeasurable contributions within all aspects of American society.

This wonderful presentation of will once again include treasures of Puerto Rico, including culinary offerings, arts, novelties, crafts, dance and song. Clevelanders of all ages and of every ethnic background will gather in downtown Cleveland to share in the celebration of this joyous event.

Mr. Speaker and Colleagues, please join me in honor and celebration of the leaders, members and participants of the 37th Annual Puerto Rican Parade and Latino Festival: This spirited event promises to create a bridge of celebration from Puerto Rico to Cleveland for all whom attend. The history and culture of the beloved island of Puerto Rico springs to life every summer as the sounds and sights of Puerto Rico rise in hope, joy and celebration in downtown Cleveland, enriching the diverse fabric of our entire Cleveland community.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor and recognition of Dr. Julius Nadas, international advocate of human rights and freedom, and dedicated protector and preservationist of the history and culture of Hungary. I also rise in tribute and celebration of Dr. Nadas' upcoming centennial birthday. One hundred years young in November, his vitality and youthful spirit continue to radiate light, hope and possibility all around him.

Dr. Nadas was born in Kecskemet, Hungary in 1905. When he was 5 years old, the family moved to Transylvania, Hungary, now present-day Romania. His parents instilled in him a great love of culture, family, community, and above all, they taught their children to stand up for human ideals of freedom and human rights, regardless of the struggle inherent in the quest for liberty. Possessing a deep intellect and an unwavering search for knowledge and understanding, Dr. Nadas was awarded a Ph.D. in Political Economics from the Royal University of Political Economics. In 1945, Dr. Nadas and his new bride, Violet, fled Hungary because of the Russian communist invasion. They lost all of their possessions, including property they owned, and lived in exile in Austria, where Dr. Nadas took on menial jobs to support his family. In 1950, buoyed by the hope of freedom from oppression and the promise of opportunity, Dr. Nadas immigrated with his wife and children to America. From the age of 52 until age 70, Dr. Nadas worked as a tool and die maker for General Electric in Nela Park. Also during that time, until 2002, Dr. Nadas established Nadas Business Services, a retailer of fine Hungarian imports. Providing a good life for his family was always a priority. The center of family, Dr. Nadas is a devoted husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. His commitment to family reflects his dedication to the community, where Dr. Nadas' promotion of Hungarian culture, history and people, and their courageous fight for freedom, is kept alive through his leadership and involvement in numerous Hungarian American organizations, including the Hungarian World Congress and the Hungarian Association of Cleveland.

Mr. Speaker and Colleagues, please join me in honor and tribute of Dr. Julius Zoltan Nadas, for his immeasurable contributions to our country. His sacrifice, bravery and tenacity reflects the significant story of the immigrant--the story of those like Dr. Nadas, who endured great danger and sacrifice to escape the darkness of tyranny in search of freedom. Dr. Nadas continues to provide energy, inspiration and warmth to his family, and to the people of the Hungarian community of Greater Cleveland, and far beyond.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in tribute and recognition of William C. Boehm, admired conductor, tenor, mentor and founder of the Singing Angels, as he is honored today by the Early Settlers Association of the Western Reserve with the Herrick Memorial Award for Civic Achievement.

A nationally highly revered tenor, performer and award-winning choreographer and director, Mr. Boehm founded the Singing Angels in Cleveland, OH in 1964, to promote the energy and joy of singing, and specifically, to share the melodic and inspirational song of children. For many years, Mr. Boehm meticulously and lovingly choreographed and planned every note of each composition. Though he no longer arranges the music, he remains the heart, soul and song of the Singing Angels. Because of his direction and unwavering commitment, the Singing Angels, a self-sustaining organization, have achieved national and international acclaim, and have performed around the world, including traveling across three continents and 29 countries.

Equipped with natural-born musical gifts, passion for the arts and a deep concern for the children of the community, Mr. Boehm's musical vocation has served to enrich the lives of countless children and adults, and has inspired hundreds of children to pursue professions framed by music and song. Mr. Boehm's guidance and leadership has created a universal model of artistic excellence, framed by significant life lessons for the young participants--respect for others, personal achievement and working as a team.

Mr. Speaker and colleagues, please join me in honor, recognition and gratitude to Mr. William C. Boehm, for his continued leadership, dedication and energy as the founder and core source of inspiration for the Singing Angels. Mr. Boehm's work and promotion of the arts in Cleveland and beyond has served as a source of good will and joy since 1964. The impact the Singing Angels experience continues to have on the children who participate is immeasurable, and will forever provide a light of energy and song within their lives, and within the lives of all those who hear them sing. Mr. Boehm has provided the world with young ambassadors of song, their music soaring aloft and connecting the entire world with a universal language of hope, possibility, goodness and song.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor and remembrance of Tess Manalo- Ventresca, devoted wife, mother, dedicated community activist, environmentalist, child advocate and friend and mentor to countless people.

Mrs. Manalo-Ventresca was born and raised in the Philippines, and immigrated to San Francisco with the hope of a better life for herself and her three children. A single mother, Ms. Manalo-Ventresca worked full-time at a union trustfund, yet still found time to become deeply involved in the issues of her urban neighborhood, particularly, quality of life issues, environmental issues and concerns regarding the youth of the community.

Mrs. Manalo-Ventresca's tireless advocacy on behalf of the people of her community was framed by heart, personal strength and conviction. In 2000, she joined Experience Corps, a national organization that links volunteers with public schools. Her focus on uplifting the lives of the children of her neighborhood was unwavering, and she spent countless hours volunteering her time at Francis Scott Key Elementary School in the Outer Sunset neighborhood, even long after her own children were grown. She became a permanent source of hope and energy at the school, serving as a member of the PTA, and leading the effort to organize environmental projects and programs. Her efforts to protect and improve her neighborhood are numerous and significant. She organized her neighbors to rally against the intrusion of adult businesses into her neighborhood, and led a triumphant effort to stop an international coffee shop chain from establishing a store in her community, preventing a detrimental impact to independently owned businesses nearby.

Mr. Speaker and colleagues, please join me in honor and remembrance of Tess Manalo-Ventresca, an exceptional human being whose integrity, kindness and concern for others has instilled light, hope and justice throughout San Francisco. I offer my deepest condolences to her husband, Joel; her children, Mark, Michael and Aurelia; her eight grandchildren; and her extended family and many friends. Her journey through life has made our world a better place, and her legacy will live on, carried aloft by every tree she planted and everyone whose lives were changed forever by knowing her.